Christian man allegedly tortured to death by police in Lahore
Family members of deceased protest in front of Green Town police station; demand CM Punjab take notice of incident
LAHORE:
A thirty-five-year-old Christian man , Allah Rakha Shahzad, died on Saturday morning, allegedly after being tortured by police officials at Green Town police station.
Shahzad- also known as Mithu- was arrested by the police on Friday night after which an FIR was filed against him. Shahzad was in custody for selling alcohol and drugs.
Shahzad’s family attributed his death to police torture, alleging that he died during interrogation. Police officials however, claimed that he died due to a heart attack.
Family members of the deceased protested in front of the Green Town police station and threw stones at the police station. DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf took notice of the incident after the protest by Shahzad's family members, who also tried to forcibly enter the police station by breaking the front door.
An FIR was then registered against investigation officer (IO) ASI Rauf and three constables whose names have not been revealed.
Angry protesters also burned tyres and broke glass with sticks, managing to block the road outside the police station.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, SP Sadar Ijaz Shafi Dogar confirmed that an FIR had been registered against IO Rauf and the three unknown constables. The dead body was moved to Munshi Hospital where medical boards will perform a postmortem.
“We will receive the postmortem report in the evening and the accused including the ASI Rauf and others constables who are nominated in the FIR will be arrested after that,” said Dogar.
DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf told The Express Tribune that once the postmortem results were received, action will be taken against the alleged assailants if they were found guilty.
Further, he added that proper procedures would be enforced and strictly followed as nobody is above the law and justice would prevail.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, the brother of the deceased said that his elder brother was innocent. "When police arrested him [Shahzad] on Friday night nothing was recovered from him and in the morning they had killed him by torturing him during interrogation," he said.
“We request the chief minister to take notice of the incident and the government should also look after the family of the deceased,” he said.
Another relative of the deceased said that they would continue protesting outside the police station till the FIR is registered against SHO Muhammad Sharif Sindhu.
ASI Rauf refused to comment on the incident.
A thirty-five-year-old Christian man , Allah Rakha Shahzad, died on Saturday morning, allegedly after being tortured by police officials at Green Town police station.
Shahzad- also known as Mithu- was arrested by the police on Friday night after which an FIR was filed against him. Shahzad was in custody for selling alcohol and drugs.
Shahzad’s family attributed his death to police torture, alleging that he died during interrogation. Police officials however, claimed that he died due to a heart attack.
Family members of the deceased protested in front of the Green Town police station and threw stones at the police station. DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf took notice of the incident after the protest by Shahzad's family members, who also tried to forcibly enter the police station by breaking the front door.
An FIR was then registered against investigation officer (IO) ASI Rauf and three constables whose names have not been revealed.
Angry protesters also burned tyres and broke glass with sticks, managing to block the road outside the police station.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, SP Sadar Ijaz Shafi Dogar confirmed that an FIR had been registered against IO Rauf and the three unknown constables. The dead body was moved to Munshi Hospital where medical boards will perform a postmortem.
“We will receive the postmortem report in the evening and the accused including the ASI Rauf and others constables who are nominated in the FIR will be arrested after that,” said Dogar.
DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf told The Express Tribune that once the postmortem results were received, action will be taken against the alleged assailants if they were found guilty.
Further, he added that proper procedures would be enforced and strictly followed as nobody is above the law and justice would prevail.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, the brother of the deceased said that his elder brother was innocent. "When police arrested him [Shahzad] on Friday night nothing was recovered from him and in the morning they had killed him by torturing him during interrogation," he said.
“We request the chief minister to take notice of the incident and the government should also look after the family of the deceased,” he said.
Another relative of the deceased said that they would continue protesting outside the police station till the FIR is registered against SHO Muhammad Sharif Sindhu.
ASI Rauf refused to comment on the incident.